SKS

The SKS (short for Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945, "Simonov self-loading rifle, 1945") is a semi-automatic carbine developed in 1945 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov for use in the Red Army of the Soviet Union during World War II. In the early 1950s, the AK-47 replaced the SKS in the Soviet Army, but the SKS remains popular on the civilian market, and its age and numbers make it cheap to purchase. Therefore, it has seen use with guerrilla movements such as the Iraqi insurgents during the Iraq War.